Food Intelligence
On sale
23rd September 2025
Price: £22
‘This is not just one of the best science books I have read, but one of the best books full stop’ – Chris van Tulleken, author of the Sunday Times bestseller ULTRA-PROCESSED PEOPLE
‘Junk-food giants hijack your biology. Wellness hucksters sell you false hope. In a food environment rigged against you, this is your guide to fighting back.’ Henry Dimbleby, author of the Sunday Times bestseller RAVENOUS, and architect of the UK’s National Food Strategy.
‘A must-read . . . written with great expertise’ – David Kessler, author of the New York Times bestseller DIET, DRUGS, AND DOPAMINE
‘If you are going to read one book about nutrition and health, then make it this one’ – Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of THE POISON SQUAD
Nutrition isn’t rocket science; it’s harder.
There are new diet fads, bold claims about superfoods and articles promising the secrets to lasting weight-loss and longevity. The more ‘expert’ advice we hear about diet, the less clarity we have about what to eat.
In Food Intelligence, award-winning health journalist, Julia Belluz, and internationally renowned nutrition and metabolism scientist, Kevin Hall, cut through the myths about nutrition to deliver the definitive book on food, diet, metabolism and healthy eating.
Breaking food down into its constituent parts, they reveal the science behind how protein, fat, carbs and vitamins impact our bodies. They shine a light on the wonders of metabolism, and debunk the latest ‘theories’ about blood sugar trackers and ultra-processed foods. They reveal the ways that the world around us – our food environment – shapes our eating behaviors and the food choices we make every day. Diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes are not a result of a failure of will power; they are consequences of food systems working as designed.
Humane and deeply reported, this journey into the science of what we eat will equip you with the food intelligence you need to better understand what’s on your dinner plate, how it got there, and why you eat it.
‘Junk-food giants hijack your biology. Wellness hucksters sell you false hope. In a food environment rigged against you, this is your guide to fighting back.’ Henry Dimbleby, author of the Sunday Times bestseller RAVENOUS, and architect of the UK’s National Food Strategy.
‘A must-read . . . written with great expertise’ – David Kessler, author of the New York Times bestseller DIET, DRUGS, AND DOPAMINE
‘If you are going to read one book about nutrition and health, then make it this one’ – Deborah Blum, Pulitzer-Prize winning author of THE POISON SQUAD
Nutrition isn’t rocket science; it’s harder.
There are new diet fads, bold claims about superfoods and articles promising the secrets to lasting weight-loss and longevity. The more ‘expert’ advice we hear about diet, the less clarity we have about what to eat.
In Food Intelligence, award-winning health journalist, Julia Belluz, and internationally renowned nutrition and metabolism scientist, Kevin Hall, cut through the myths about nutrition to deliver the definitive book on food, diet, metabolism and healthy eating.
Breaking food down into its constituent parts, they reveal the science behind how protein, fat, carbs and vitamins impact our bodies. They shine a light on the wonders of metabolism, and debunk the latest ‘theories’ about blood sugar trackers and ultra-processed foods. They reveal the ways that the world around us – our food environment – shapes our eating behaviors and the food choices we make every day. Diseases like obesity and type 2 diabetes are not a result of a failure of will power; they are consequences of food systems working as designed.
Humane and deeply reported, this journey into the science of what we eat will equip you with the food intelligence you need to better understand what’s on your dinner plate, how it got there, and why you eat it.
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Reviews
A must-read breath of sanity written with great expertise that can improve the health of all of us.
If you are going to read one book about nutrition and health, then make it this one. Food Intelligence is so insightful, so beautifully researched, so fascinating in the telling, that you will finish it - as I did - feeling smarter about what you eat and about yourself as well.
This is not just one of the best science books I have read, but one of the best books full stop. It's funny, scholarly, and extremely important. Full of piercing observations, it ruthlessly cuts a path through the wilderness of nutritional nonsense that we have been lost in for so long. It is the first and last book anyone really needs to read on this subject. A spectacular piece of writing that manages to be both fascinating and entertaining in equal measure.
If there were ever two people to turn to understand the complexities of our diet, metabolism, and nutrition - and their role in promoting our health - it would be the noted science journalist Julia Belluz and leading nutritional scientist Kevin Hall. Their landmark book Food Intelligence will make us all smarter about what we eat.
If you want to understand how nutrition became so contentious and why we are still arguing about whether it's better to eat more or less fat, carbohydrates, protein, or vitamins, you must read Food Intelligence. Well-written, historically accurate, and scientifically rigorous, this book brings you up to the moment on contemporary dietary issues.
Food and nutrition are fascinating, complex, and important to every person on earth. This book brings it all alive into a compelling, valuable story of why, what, and how we eat, and how to do better.
Junk-food giants hijack your biology. Wellness hucksters sell you false hope. In a food environment rigged against you, this is your guide to fighting back.